In Support of Complex Stories

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I’ve noticed a trend in stories in recent years that tends towards quick, easy reads. Novels with a relatively straightforward plot, short scenes and chapters, one or two POV characters. There’s a good reason these types of stories are popular – they’re easy to read and easy to write. A skilled author can easily crank out two or even more books a year. A reader can enjoy an entertaining story without taking a lot of time or mental energy. 

And in today’s always-busy, always-stressed world, that’s a good thing. An easy read is a great way to unplug – and any sort of reading is better than doomscrolling on social media these days. I enjoy the occasional “fluff” read myself. Sometimes a predictable plot and bite-sized chapters is the perfect brain break. 

But there’s still room for long, complicated, difficult reads. I’m not putting down anyone’s personal preference when it comes to books – with today’s technology and resources, anyone can find something they like to read. There are readers who want the quick and easy reads, and there are still the readers who want the verbose, detailed, complex reads. 

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How to Use Info Dumps

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Are you guilty of using way too many info dumps in your stories? (It’s okay—I am, too).

Put simply, an info dump is just what it sounds like: a large dump of information (or explanation) in the middle of an unfolding story. It can be a problem in the fantasy, sci-fi, and even historical fiction genres, because those require more explanations of the world than a story set in present-day in Big City, USA.

It is generally advised to not use info dumps because they can slow down the pace of a story. If the high-stakes action has to be paused for two pages while the author explains how a piece of technology works, why the wizards are using those particular magical talismans in their battle, or lay out a family tree of this nobleman’s family—then readers may get bored, or lose track of what was actually happening in the plot at that moment. As fascinating as the world of your story is, you don’t want your novel to read like a textbook.

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A (Re-)Introduction Post 

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It’s been a while since I’ve done any sort of intro post (like, years), and since I’ve gained at least a few new followers in that time, I thought it might be time for another one. You know, just some quick tidbits about me, so you can better understand who you’re following and decide if this was such a wise choice after all. 

You can check out some other posts to learn about my all-time favorite author (Beatrix Potter), or other random things about me. There is also this post from a few years ago about who I am vs who I want to be, and is just as true today as it was in 2022.

And now, here are five other quick trivia bits about me that you may or may not care to know: 

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Self-Editing Tip: Downsizing Your Writing

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I wrote a post a few months ago about my self-editing process. I tend to make changes and edits as I write, which results in a highly polished, but slow to produce, first draft. I’ve noticed lately, however, that my writing has been progressing even slower (for multiple reasons), but one important reason is that I’ve gotten a bit bogged down in the editing and polishing as I’m writing.

I am also a very verbose writer. My current WIP (and my favorite genre) is epic fantasy, which by definition is long—but I really love words and descriptions, and sometimes I just have too many words in my manuscript. One of the things that I do when I’m self-editing as I write is look for places where I can tighten up a sentence or a paragraph. That’s also one of the biggest things I ask my editor to help with—tightening up and trimming down.

I know that many writers have the opposite problem—after their first draft, they have to go back through and add descriptions, tags, modifiers, explanations. This blog post is not for you (sorry!). This is for the folks like me who put in way too much in the way of descriptions, tags, modifiers, and explanations.

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AI Books: Are Writers Going Extinct?

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Let me start off by saying that if you want to know all the latest news (good or bad) about AI in the writing world, or the creative/art world in general, there are tons of resources out there. One of my favorites is Writer Beware, which specializes in scams and other threats to writers, and she often covers AI related news. You can also check out author Kristen Lamb’s blog—she recently wrote a post about AI. So this post is primarily my personal opinion, as well as my personal habits as a writer in a rapidly-changing world.

I do not use AI in my writing. I do not collaborate with AI to generate ideas, write text, or even polish and edit my work. (If spell-check is now considered AI then I guess I do use that, but I have never used anything more advanced than that). My books, blogs, social media posts, and newsletters are all fully and completely written by me—and all em-dashes and semi colons are my own, fully organic work, thank you very much! 😉

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